Tag: marijuana legalization

White House Drug Czar Could Endorse Marijuana Legalization Under New Bill To Repeal ‘Ludicrous’ Restriction

Democratic congressional lawmakers have announced the filing of a bill that would remove a restriction that’s prevented the White House drug czar from advocating for the legalization of marijuana or other Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

At a Last Prisoner Project (LPP) event outside the Capitol on Tuesday, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN)—co-chairs of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—talked about the group’s legislative priorities for marijuana reform. Beyond the new bill, that will also include bipartisan legislation to end federal prohibition in legal states and free up the industry to access banking services.

The lawmakers’ “Evidence-Based Drug Policy Act” would take aim at a federal statute prohibiting the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from promoting reform around Schedule I drugs.

The current law states that no funds provided to ONDCP can be used for “any study or contract relating to the legalization (for a medical use or any other use) of a substance listed in schedule I,” further requiring the office’s director to “take such actions as necessary to oppose any attempt to legalize the use of a substance (in any form)” that is in Schedule I and has not been approved for use for medical purposes by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Under the two-page bill, that statutory language included in section 704(b)(12) of the ONDCP Reauthorization Act would be repealed.

Titus said on Tuesday that the legislation would “remove outdated restrictions, which are just ludicrous.”

“They’re not allowed to sponsor any research on Schedule I drugs. They can’t even talk about it, to show you how ridiculous is,” she said. “And by law, they have to actively oppose the legalization of any substance that is Schedule I and not approved by the FDA. We’re trying to remove that prohibition.”

Marijuana legalization “is not some out-of-nowhere kind of issue. This is something that is truly mainstream,” Titus said. “So if we can get rid of that policy, we can begin to do research on some of the advantages, or how marijuana can be used and what are the medical implications so when they say, ‘Oh, we don’t know—we don’t know what it’ll do, it might be dangerous’—you can counter that with good research.”

Whether the Trump administration’s recently appointed drug czar would exercise the authority to advocate for reform under the bill if enacted is uncertain. However, ONDCP Director Sara Carter has previously called medical marijuana a “fantastic” treatment option for seriously ill patients and said she doesn’t have a “problem” with legalization, even if she might not personally agree with the policy.

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US House Reps File Bill to Legalize Cannabis, Deliver 280E Relief, Permit Interstate Commerce

Despite 11 U.S. House Republicans backing legislation that intends to permanently punish cannabis businesses in the federal tax code, a trio of bipartisan representatives introduced a bill on April 17 that would do just the opposite and then some.  

U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, Max Miller, R-Ohio, and Dina Titus, D-Nev., filed the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) 2.0 Act, legislation that aims to federally legalize cannabis through an approach that allows states, Washington, D.C., U.S. territories and tribal nations to determine how to regulate cannabis within their borders.

Primary provisions under the legislation include:

  • Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act while also supporting states that choose to maintain prohibition enforcement policies;
  • Providing state-sanctioned cannabis businesses with federal tax relief by allowing them to deduct ordinary business expenses (removing their conduct as “drug trafficking” from Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code); and
  • Allowing for interstate cannabis commerce, including transportation through states and territories that choose to maintain prohibition policies.

Joyce, who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus (CCC), sponsored a previous version of the STATES Act last Congress.

“Whether a state is pro-legalization or anti-legalization, we can all agree that the current federal approach to cannabis policy is not working,” Joyce said in a press release. “As President Trump has acknowledged, the existing policy has caused unnecessary harm and squandered taxpayer dollars by diverting law enforcement resources from combatting violent crimes to making needless arrests and facilitating incarcerations for small possessions of state-legal marijuana.”

Although President Donald Trump indicated along the campaign trail in September that he supported states’ rights on cannabis policy, as well as federal rescheduling and banking reform for the industry, he’s been silent on the issue since taking office 91 days ago.

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GOP Congressman And House Democratic Leader Team Up To Prepare For Federal Marijuana Legalization With Alcohol-Like Regulations

A GOP congressman and the top House Democrat are teaming up on a new bill to lay the groundwork for federal marijuana legalization.

On the same day he announced the refiling of a separate bipartisan measure to end federal prohibition in states that have legalized cannabis, Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) has again introduced the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-Prohibition Adult-Use Regulated Environment Act (PREPARE) Act.

The legislation is also being sponsored by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who has worked with Joyce on earlier versions of the bill in past sessions.

The incremental reform would direct the attorney general to create a commission charged with making recommendations on a regulatory system for cannabis that models what’s currently in place for alcohol.

“Currently, nearly all 50 states have legalized or enacted cannabis to some degree, bringing us closer to the inevitable end to federal cannabis prohibition,” Joyce said in a press release on Thursday. “Recognizing this reality, the PREPARE Act delivers a bipartisan plan.”

“With this legislation, Congress would be equipped to develop a much-needed federal regulatory framework that not only respects the unique needs, rights, and laws of each state, but also ensures a responsible end to prohibition and a safer future for our communities,” he said.

The legislation largely resembles an earlier version introduced last session, with several largely technical changes.

One substantive from the last version is that the proposed cannabis commission would now include representatives of the Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Labor and Treasury, as well as the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) and Office of Minority Health and Indian Health Service.

Language was also added to clarify that two commission members who’ve overseen the development of “two successful, separate, and unique State-level regulatory systems” must have served on state cannabis control commissions. Such commissions are newly defined as “any State commission, bureau, board, department, office, agency, division, or authority responsible for the regulation of the State’s legal medical and recreational cannabis program.”

The prospects of marijuana legislation advancing in the Republican-controlled Congress this session remain unclear, but certain members have expressed confidence that modest reform could be achievable on a bipartisan basis. The PREPARE Act could represent an area of agreement to that end.

“Since the failed war on drugs began more than 50 years ago, the prohibition of marijuana has ruined lives, families and communities, particularly communities of color,” Jeffries said. “The PREPARE Act is one of the bipartisan solutions that will lay the groundwork to finally right these wrongs in a way that advances public safety and boosts our economy.”

“I am grateful to Congressman Joyce for reintroducing this important bill and his leadership to help the United States be ready for the inevitable end to cannabis prohibition,” he said.

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Indiana GOP Senators Block Another Attempt To Legalize Marijuana Through Budget Bill

Indiana Republican senators have rejected another attempt to legalize marijuana in the state.

On Monday, the Senate considered numerous amendments to a two-year budget, defeating many Democratic-led proposals including one from Sen. Rodney Pol (D) to create a regulated adult-use cannabis market.

Pol stressed that Indiana is “losing out” to neighboring states such as Illinois and Michigan that have already enacted legalization, with tax revenue from marijuana sales being diverted to those states as Indianans patronized their licensed businesses.

He said it’s “frustrating” to watch Indiana “lose on an opportunity to keep our dollars in our state and provide relief to those individuals that are dealing with cancer, PTSD, chronic pain and other ailments that prefer cannabis for needed relief, as opposed to pharmaceuticals.”

“We have hundreds of people in the hallway that are concerned about money that we are spending,” he said. “And this is an easy way to turn what is in an illicit market that is funding more crime right now into a regulated and safe taxed market that we reap the benefits of.”

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GOP Pennsylvania Senator Calls For Legalizing Marijuana And Using Tax Revenue To Create State ‘Legacy Fund’ For Long-Term Investments

A Republican Pennsylvania senator is calling for the creation of a state “legacy” fund, using tax revenue from adult-use marijuana sales and gaming to make long-term investments in the Commonwealth’s economy.

In an op-ed published in The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Tuesday, Sen. Dan Laughlin (R) said “we must ensure that today’s tax revenue is not just spent in the moment but invested wisely to benefit future generations.” And he’s proposing the “Pennsylvania Legacy Fund” as a means of achieving that.

As the legislature once again debates various cannabis legalization proposals, the senator is making the case that, beyond using any resulting tax revenue to fund day-to-day projects and public services, the state should earmark a portion of those tax dollars for a fund to “provide a sustainable source of prosperity that lasts for generations.”

“Legalization isn’t a matter of if anymore—it’s when,” the senator, who has sponsored bipartisan reform proposals, said. “Ohio took the step in 2023, and every year we wait, we lose tax revenue to neighboring states. A well-regulated cannabis market in Pennsylvania could generate hundreds of millions of dollars annually through sales taxes and licensing fees.”

“These funds could be directed into the Legacy Fund, ensuring that revenue from this emerging industry contributes to long-term investments in education, infrastructure, and other critical needs. Additionally, legalization would create jobs, support local businesses, and reduce the prevalence of the illegal and unregulated market. It is imperative that Pennsylvania takes action now to stay competitive and reap the benefits of this inevitable shift.”

Laughlin said his proposal would work by having cannabis and gaming tax revenue deposited into a “carefully managed investment fund,” which would include a “diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and real estate.”

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Canada’s Retail Marijuana Expansion Came With Only Modest Increases To Use, New Study Shows

Ever since recreational cannabis was legalized across Canada in 2018, researchers have been studying what that decision changed for Canadians.

We’ve learned, for example, that some patients immediately left the medical cannabis system, presumably to use recreational products instead. Conversely, legalization appeared to have no effect on Canadian alcohol sales.

We’ve similarly seen how cannabis retailing has evolved since it became legal.

Retailers suffered from product shortages during legalization’s first six months, but steadily expanded soon after. Canada went from having some 210 stores in April 2019 to 3,500 in April 2023. The ensuing competition pushed prices down 28 percent during that period.

Meanwhile, provincial governments have tried various regulatory approaches. Some initially restricted the number of stores to avoid tempting non-users. Québec still has 10 times fewer stores per capita than Ontario does as a result. Other provinces have set minimum prices to discourage people from overindulging. For example, Ontario won’t let wholesale prices drop below $2.28 per gram.

These developments in business and government policy prompted my latest research. I wanted to understand what effect retail expansion had on cannabis use. To do this, I analyzed consumer responses on government surveys collected between 2019 to 2023. I then compared these responses to the recreational cannabis consumer price index and the numbers of licensed stores in each province.

Did Canadians consume cannabis more widely, more frequently and at younger ages as it became more accessible and affordable? The answer was mostly no.

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Florida Officials Say Marijuana Legalization Campaign Committed ‘Multiple Election Law Violations’

Florida officials have sent a cease-and-desist letter to the campaign seeking to place a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2026 ballot, alleging that the group has “committed multiple election law violations.”

The Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS)—part of Florida’s Department of State—also fined Smart & Safe Florida more than $120,000 for submitting completed petitions more than 30 days after they were signed.

The issue has been referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a “potential criminal investigation.”

The campaign was behind last year’s Amendment 3 legalization ballot measure, which failed to win the required 60 percent approval to become law, and is now working to qualify a revised constitutional amendment for next year’s ballot.

Among the claimed violations listed in the letter are that Smart & Safe Florida failed to provide the official text of the proposed constitutional amendment to voters when obtaining signatures as well as that it delivered “forged or fraudulent petitions”—such as one “purportedly signed by a Florida voter in February 2025, when, in fact, that voter has been deceased since November of 2024.”

In a statement to Marijuana Moment, a campaign representative said it has confidence in the process and intends to push back on the state’s assertion it violated election law.

“The claims made appear to be a targeted effort to thwart the ability for the people of Florida to express their support of a citizen-driven amendment,” the statement says. “We stand by the process and had legal counsel vet all forms and communications prior to mailing and look forward to challenging the validity of these claims.”

Other violations claimed by OECS assert that the campaign circulated non-approved petition forms “in a manner that has created the opportunity for fraud and has led to dozens of Florida voters completing and submitting multiple…petitions” and that it submitted completed petitions after a state-mandated deadline.

The letter demands “an immediate accounting of any and all petition forms that were obtained in response to one of your mailed packages that you or your agents have turned in” and further mandates that Smart & Safe Florida “immediately cease the mailing, use, or circulation of non-approved petition forms.”

“Initiative efforts must be undertaken in compliance with the law,” the document says. “The issues raised in this letter are serious and could serve to undermine public confidence in the initiative process.”

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New Hampshire Governor Reiterates Opposition To Marijuana Legalization, But May Consider Allowing Medical Homegrow

As bills to legalize marijuana for adults in New Hampshire makes their way through the legislature, Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) is reiterating her opposition to the reform—but is also signaling that she may be open to separate legislation that would allow medical cannabis patients to grow their own medicine at home.

“I’ve been very clear on this,” Ayotte told reporters last Wednesday, the same day House lawmakers passed HB 198, which would legalize the use and possession of marijuana by adults 21 and older. “I ran on this issue, and the people of New Hampshire know where I stand on it. I don’t support it.”

A former U.S. senator and state attorney general, Ayotte said repeatedly on the campaign trail last year that she would oppose efforts at adult-use legalization.

HB 198 would, if enacted, allow adults 21 and older to possess up to two ounces of marijuana flower, 10 grams of concentrate and up to 2,000 milligrams of THC in other cannabis products. Retail sales of marijuana products, along with home cultivation, would remain illegal. Consuming marijuana on public land would also be prohibited.

The proposal, from Rep. Jared Sullivan (D), cleared the chamber last week in a 208–125 vote.

Ayotte said there were a number of reasons she’s against the change, according to a report from the outlet InDepthNH.

“I don’t think it is the right direction for the state for a lot of reasons,” she told reporters. “I believe, if you think about our quality of life, if you think about some of the concerns that can flow from that. I know…we talked about safety on our roadways. I think that there are a number of issues that states who have legalized cannabis have experienced in those regards that I just don’t think can be addressed at the moment with the existing technology.”

The governor of the Granite State also added that she’s “mindful of the message we send to younger people when we legalize something versus it being illegal.”

Despite Ayotte’s comments flatly opposing legalization, however, she left the door open to more modest cannabis reform. She told reporters she will review every bill that comes to her desk, including a separate House-passed measure that would legalize home cultivation by state-registered medical marijuana patients.

That bill—HB 53, from Rep. Wendy Thomas (D), would allow cultivation of up to three mature plants and three immature plants, as well as 12 seedlings. Patients could also possess up to eight ounces of usable cannabis from those plants.

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Trump’s First Pick For Attorney General Says Marijuana Rescheduling Is ‘On The Horizon’

Former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL)—President Donald Trump’s first pick for U.S. attorney general this term before he withdrew from consideration—says “meaningful” marijuana reform is “on the horizon” under the current administration, praising the president’s “leadership” in supporting rescheduling.

In an op-ed published by The Tampa Bay Times on Thursday, Gaetz said that moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) “won’t solve every problem overnight, but it is a necessary step in the right direction.” And he expressed confidence that Trump will bring about that reform.

The former lawmaker’s column omits mention of the fact that former President Joe Biden initiated the rescheduling review that led federal agencies to recommend the reclassification. And while it’s true that, during his 2024 campaign, Trump endorsed the policy change in a social media post, he has not publicly discussed marijuana issues since taking office.

In any case, Gaetz said today “there is meaningful change finally on the horizon, thanks to President Donald Trump and his leadership in supporting the rescheduling of cannabis from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug.”

Gaetz said he’s “always believed that marijuana laws should be rooted in science, not stigma,” citing his work to advance reform during his time in the Florida House and Congress.

However, he seemed to mischaracterize his contribution to the issue in the state legislature, claiming he introduced legislation at the time to “legalize marijuana because I understood that our outdated federal policies were failing patients, veterans and businesses.” Gaetz did sponsor a limited medical cannabis bill, but not a full-out legalization measure. In Congress, he was one of the sole GOP votes to support a Democrat-led federal legalization bill, however.

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Marijuana Industry PAC Attacks Biden And Canada In New Ads Designed To Appeal To Trump

A marijuana industry-funded political action committee (PAC) is attacking former President Joe Biden’s cannabis policy record as well as the nation of Canada, with new ads promoting sometimes misleading claims about the last administration while making the case that President Donald Trump can deliver on reform.

The American Rights and Reform PAC–which launched in 2023 under a different name, Legalize America, and lists an executive at the major marijuana company Curaleaf as its treasurer—has two ads on its site that appear designed to appeal directly to Trump.

The ads aim to accomplish that by sharply criticizing the president’s predecessor and also emphasizing that American cannabis businesses are losing out to Canada, a more recent target of Trump’s ire, because of prohibitionist U.S. laws.

But with respect to the Biden-centered ad, the PAC’s attempt to draw a sharp contrast between the two administrations included inaccurate characterizations of Biden’s record—at one point stating that Biden was personally involved in criminalizing marijuana while completely ignoring his direct role in initiating a federal marijuana rescheduling review.

“Millions of American patients depend on medical cannabis, but Joe Biden and Democrats classified their medication as a dangerous narcotic like heroin, eliminating their access to relief,” the ad says.

“President Trump is fighting to make America healthy again,” it continues. “He did it before by giving patients life saving treatments with the Right to Try, and he can do it again by rescheduling cannabis. Ask President Trump to end Biden’s war on medical cannabis and put patients first.”

To be sure, advocates have widely criticized Biden for championing punitive anti-drug laws during his time in the Senate and not doing more to release people still incarcerated over federal cannabis-related convictions while in the White House.

But it was under the administration of Republican President Richard Nixon that marijuana was placed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) in 1970, before Biden joined the Senate. That was also before any states had legalized medical cannabis, despite the ad suggesting that patients were criminalized while legal programs existed.

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